Hitting on Sam
by ThinCeilings
Summary: Sam was perceptive, focused, and alert. But more importantly, she was Lara Croft's best friend. Put two and two together, and whammo! You got one confused Japanese-Portuguese-American twenty three-year-old wondering why the heckie heck her cute British best friend hadn't yet snagged herself a hunky, bookish, adventurous, sexy, etc, etc boyfriend. (No worries, it's Lara/Sam).
1. Chapter 1

Sam prided herself on being a perceptive person. Sharp as the focus on a Nikon D700, she was, with more zoom on someone's feelings than the AF-S NIKKOR zoom lens - or perhaps a Canon EF, ooh, yeah, those were nice, two were on their merry way to her tertiary duplex on rush - she'd ordered them the instant Canon broke the news -

But that was beside the point!

She was perceptive, she was focused, she was alert. But more importantly, she was Lara Croft's best friend. Put two and two together, and whammo! You got one confused Japanese-Portuguese-American twenty three-year-old wondering why the heckie heck her cute British best friend hadn't yet snagged herself a hunky, intelligent, bookish, adventurous, sexy, etc, etc boyfriend.

"Sweetie?" Sam said, peeking her head around the corner of Lara's kitchen.

"There's more Nutella in the cabinet above the fridge," said Lara distractedly, bent over a mountain of papers and textbooks on her desk.

"That's not what I want," said Sam, slipping over to Lara's side. She peeked over her friend's shoulder, and read aloud the title of the book she was poring over. "Sun Wukong and Immortality: The Crossroads of Religion, Superstition, and Culture in Ancient China." She wrinkled her nose. "News flash, Lara - some people use summer break to, y'know. Take a break."

"Break doesn't exist when you're a Croft," said Lara, running her finger down a column in a dictionary. "You don't ... happen to know the Chinese character for 'charisma,' do you?"

"I hardly speak Japanese. What makes you think I can do Chinese?"

"Right, right - it's just that kanji is borrowed from Chinese, and the languages share a lot of the same characters, so it's likely that 'charisma' might have … Had …" At the look on Sam's face, she trailed off. "Sorry. I was going off again, wasn't I?" She closed the dictionary with a heavy thoom.

"Embrace your inner nerd, sweetheart." Sam draped her arms over Lara's shoulders. Commence Mission Impossible: Get Lara Croft an Equally Nerdy Boyfriend. "Hey, know what would be awesome?"

"Hm?"

"Finding that one special nerd."

She stared. "I don't follow."

"You know!" Sam stuck out her arm and dramatically panned her hand across Lara's field of view. "A lifelong love buddy. A forever-night stand. Your _raison d'etre_."

More staring. Jeez. She loved her to bits, but Lara could be friggin' dense. "A boyfriend, dummy."

A fraction of a second ticked by with no response - then the implications of what Sam was saying sank in. Lara threw her head back and burst out laughing, a very offended-looking Sam pulling herself off her shoulders. On the last legs of her laughter, she choked out, "No way."

"Whaaaaat? Why not?"

Chuckling, Lara gently pushed down Sam's arm, and scooted her chair closer to the desk. "I'm not interested in men."

"Why not?" Sam pressed, plopping her butt down on the desk and upsetting the desk lamp.

"I'm way too busy." Lara steadied the desk lamp. "Besides, a man could never keep up with me."

"More like a man could never put with you," puffed Sam. "All these papers! Essays! Books! All over the place! Your apartment's a mess." She shook her head. "It's like a pigsty, but instead of pigs, it's … Dusty old books! It's like a … a…"

"A library, Sam. You're thinking of a library."

"Nerd." Nearly knocking A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Calligraphy onto the floor, Sam scooched off the desk, and without so much as a warning, started dragging her chair away from the desk. Lara instinctively gripped the edges of her seat, holding on.

"Sam, come on -" she started, twisting round to see her friend.

"You - need - to - hit - on - cute - guys!" exclaimed Sam, punctuating each word with an insistent tug on the chair.

"No thanks," said Lara, getting up. "I'd like my chair back, please."

Sam swung the chair behind her back. "Not until you hit on at least two hot boys."

Lara made a grab for the chair, but Sam stepped deftly out of the way. Frowning, Lara said, "Even if I did agree to this - and I'm not - where would we go? It's too early for the bar scene."

"Young people lingo! Ten points to Hufflepuff! " said Sam, brightening. Then she frowned. "Actually, is Harry Potter too new for you? Maybe I should reference some ancient Celtic tribes -"

"And anyway," Lara trudged on, ignoring Sam's interjection with admirable stubbornness, "it's not like I've got experience hitting on men. I'll just embarrass everyone involved."

Sam chewed on her tongue, considering the very exasperated Lara before her. What could she do? As Lara's best friend and closest confidante … What … Could … She …

Do?

Like the sun breaking gloriously over the horizon, a grin spread across Sam's face, illuminating every feature it touched. "Except you won't embarrass everyone involved, 'cause you, my dear, will first be hitting on …" She lowered her voice to a manly growl. "Samuel Nishimura, dashing, sexy, and oh-so-male."

Holy shit. Lara pressed her fingers to her temples. "No. Absolutely not."

"Aren't you attracted to Mr. Nishimura?" Sam waggled her eyebrows.

"Can you please stop doing that thing with your voice, Sam?"

Sam expelled a puff of air through her nostrils. "I thought Lara Croft was adventurous. Bold. Ready to take life by the throat and strangle."

"No - well, yeah - but that's different! I can't climb a boy. I can't explore a boy."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "You'd be surprised."

"Stop."

"I'll stop after you hit on me once. Just once!"

Lara opened her mouth to protest, then closed it at Sam's big watery eyes and scrunched up little nose and wobbly chin. God, this girl knew how to play her like a fiddle. "Fine. But only once."

The puppy-dog look vanished and Sam clapped her hands together. "Great! Okay, now three two one go!"

Christ, was she really going through with this? Lara cleared her throat - might as well get this over with soon. "Hi. Hi there."

"Hello," grunted Sam. In her regular voice, she hissed, "Ask me if I come here often!"

"Do you." Unwittingly, the vivid sans serif title of that American television show _Naked and Afraid _flashed across her brain. "Do you come here. Often."

"No, I don't," said Sam, and whisper-shouted in her regular voice, "Be more aggressive!"

"Aggressive, right," she muttered. Lara Croft had been impaled by rusty poles, shot at by howling religious fanatics (arrows and bullets), trussed up and burned, and attacked by savage wolves, but hitting on Sam was, by far, the most painful thing she had ever suffered through. "Well, uh - I, let's see -"

Trying her hardest to keep a straight face, Sam grabbed her hand and guided it toward the curve of her waist. Lara could feel the back of her neck burning, and wondered vaguely if Sam could feel the heat. "Bust a move," Sam hissed.

"Uhh." Wow, her eyelashes were long. How could eyelashes be that long? Was she wearing mascara? "Do you, um, are you - do you have a girlfriend, I mean, are you here alone?"

The corner of Sam's mouth twitched. "Yeah, I'm here alone." Whisper-shout: "Compliment my handsomeness!"

"You're very, um. Pretty." Sam batted those long, long eyelashes. Lara's heart skipped a beat and suddenly she couldn't look at her directly. She settled on staring at a spot on the wall behind her. "For a, uh. A man. You know?"

"Men can be pretty."

"Yeah! Yes." Throat-clear. "Affirmative, yes, they can be."

"Men can be really pretty." Sam said, grinning. She took hold of Lara's other hand (Lara's heart nearly stopped) and pulled her in even closer. Their gazes met. Lara could count every faint freckle on Sam's cheeks, could smell the sweet and airy perfume on her collarbone, could finally appreciate the true beauty of brown eyes.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Sam whispered in her normal voice.

Wordless, Lara nodded.

"I think you're pretty," Sam said and then they were kissing, their fingers squeezing together, reassuring each other that they were there; Lara could feel Sam pressed up against her body, warm and soft, like good thoughts on a bad day. The kiss lasted for a second. The kiss lasted for a lifetime.

It was Lara who pulled away. Lips parted, she stared at Sam, who stared back at her, face flushed pink. The realization crept in like an unwanted guest.

"Oh my God," said Sam.

"Sam," Lara began.

"Oh my _God_," said Sam loudly, taking two quick steps away from her. "Oh. My. God."

"Sam -"

"Oh my _fucking _God -" Sam whipped around and fast-walked for the front door. Lara hastened after her and reached out to touch her shoulder, only to have her hand thrown off. "Sam -"

"Thiswasfungoodnightokaygoodbye," Sam said. She grabbed her shoes, flung open the door, and slammed it shut behind it with a loud BANG. Lara wrenched the door back open, but Sam was already halfway down the steps of her apartment, feet moving faster than she had ever seen.

"Sam!"

"Goodbyefriendgoodbyehaveagoodsleep!" Sam called, and then she was gone. For half a heartbeat, Lara lingered painfully on the top step, torn between slinking into her bedroom and burying her face in the pillows forever, and rushing down the stairs after her best friend. As the internal debate raged on, she touched her fingers to her lips. She could still taste Sam.

Fuck it.

Gritting her teeth, Lara slammed her door behind her ("Not again!" she heard her neighbor groan loudly), and hurtled down the steps three at a time.


	2. Chapter 2

Teenagers made out, fingers groped, dancers shivered, technicolor lights pulsed, amps thrummed, and sleazy salarymen pinched the behinds of passing waitresses. Lara Croft lowered the bouquet of roses as she hovered at the threshold. She scanned the crowd for that familiar brown jacket, that flash of laughter and perfume, that enigmatic smile - but nothing.

She breathed in deeply and exhaled.

Lara had expected an easy chase, but Sam had vanished into thin air. For an hour she had wandered the dark streets, calling Sam's name and drawing strange looks from passersby. She had even asked around at local grocer's, and left with a bouquet of flowers- the store-owner insisted- but no Sam.

At last, she stumbled into an old beggar who had seen a distraught 20-something Asianish girl. "Wobbled righ' into th' place there." He pointed at a club across the street. "Tears streamin' down 'er face. You 'er friend, or- 'ey!"

Lara had headed straight for the club, and now here she was. The throbbing bass made it hard to think, but she forced herself to assume Sam's point of view. She shook her head. If she was an upset, vulnerable, and sexually confused young woman, she would go straight for…

Shit.

"Excuse me," she said as she strong-armed her way to the bar. Some asshole grabbed at the roses, but she elbowed him soundly in the side and slipped through a gap before he could recover. Miraculously, she emerged from the horde with her bouquet uncrushed.

Cheap bottles staffed the shelves; a kaleidoscope of lights refracted off the glasses and painted the counter with colored dots. A harried student bartender was mixing a drink while a salaryman, nursing a shot of whiskey, blocked out the rest of the counter. Lara frowned as she peered over him. Sam had to be here - and she was, right at the end of the counter! She congratulated herself on her keen Nishi-Senses and was about to go over when she noticed him.

The broad-shouldered college boy. Who sat next to Sam. And was making her laugh.

Lara's eyes narrowed into slits. She shoved past the salaryman. "What's he doing here?"

Sam turned. Her eyes widened. "Lara-?"

"I'm hitting on her," the boy cut in.

Lara cocked an eyebrow at Sam. "You've got shit taste, Sam."

His nostrils flared. "What'd'you just say?"

Lara sneered. "Dense to boot, innit?"

He rose. "You say sorry, you _whore_."

Lara saw red, and drove her knee into his abdomen.

He doubled over. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, and smashed his head against the counter. He slumped to the floor. Onlookers cheered as she rammed her boot into his gut, and she was about to slam his face against the barstool when the manager pushed her way to the front of the gathered audience.

"Stop!" she roared. "Now! Now! Get out!"

Lara managed to score two more kicks before the bouncers hoisted her up by armpits and tossed her out the back door. She landed squarely on her arse on a pile of trash. One of the bouncers chucked the bouquet at her, and the door to Club Frenzy slammed shut. Save for the rats rifling around in the dumpster, she was alone in the dark back-alley behind the club. Great.

Club music swelled as the door swung open. Sam hurried out, saw her, and rushed to her side. "God!" She helped her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Lara dusted herself off. "Are you all right?"

Sam shook her head. "You beat the shit out of him!"

"I should have killed the bastard."

"What? No!" Sam crossed her arms. "Jesus, Lara! You can't just go around hurting people you don't like!"

"Why? Did you like him?"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

"Forget it."

"Tell me."

"I said forget it."

"Lara, tell me what the hell-"

"I said forget it-"

"Tell me what the hell is going on!"

"You kissed me!" Lara said. "You kissed me, and then you ran off into some bloke's arms, so sorry if I'm upset!"

The words came out fast, quick, and painful. Sam opened her mouth, then closed it. Lara breathed heavily into her scarf. She hated arguing with Sam; it made all the ugly rise up in her belly. No one else could make her feel as scared.

Sam broke the silence. "Look." She looked down. "I just… I was confused."

She looked up for a response. None came. "So I panicked and ran. I was looking for a distraction. I didn't even like him. I was really insensitive and… I'm sorry." She breathed out. "But you shouldn't have done that."

Lara raised her head. "I know. I'm sorry too."

"Promise me you won't do it again."

"I won't- I promise."

Tentatively, they smiled at each other. Things were slowly starting to feel normal between them.

"So what now?" Sam ventured.

A good question. Lara's eyes landed on the fallen bouquet, and she scooped it up. Sam wrinkled her nose. "Cute, but no thanks."

"That's not it." Lara pulled out a folded note. "I, erm. I wrote down what I wanted to say." She held it out. "So I wouldn't have to say it out loud."

Sam hesitated, then took the note. She unfolded it. "Dear Sam," she began, "I wanted to-"

Lara flushed. "Don't read it out!"

"-know that you are my best friend-"

"Sam-"

"-anything else, and I-"

"Oh my God-"

"-give up our friendship for the world." Sam looked up. "Aww."

"Oh my Goddddd."

"If you insist." Sam smoothed out the note. "But I like you a lot, and I think that you like me too. So if you're okay with it... Dot dot dot." She frowned. "Dot dot dot?"

Lara muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?"

More nonsense.

"Lara, you gotta speak up."

"I - I left it blank!" Lara said. "So I could ask you in person, and - right," she muttered, as Sam disintegrated into uncontrollable laughter. Half a minute passed before Sam finally stopped, wiping a tear from her eye.

"It's, it's cute! It's endearing."

"Great."

"Really!" Sam smiled, and took Lara's hands in her own. "It really is."

Lara glanced down at their hands. "Sam?"

Sam looked into her eyes. "I'd like to kiss you now," Sam said. "For real."

Her heart thumped. "Go ahead."

In the chill of the winter, the kiss was warm.

They broke apart gently. "By the way," Sam said, "you're the smartest, bravest, et cetera person I know. You just, um. Caught me off guard the first time, and I thought you were straight, and... And I'd love to go out with you."

Lara's heart stopped beating. "Really?"

"Of course, dummy!"

Lara beamed. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest with happiness. "Thought I was the smartest person you knew?"

"Very funny." Sam shook her head. "Let's get outta here. It smells like piss."

"Right." Lara tossed the trampled bouquet into the dumpster and led the way out.

The street was deserted. It was peaceful. Sam grinned to herself.

"What is it?" said Lara.

"It's just..." Sam's giggled. "You honest-to-God tried hitting on my sexy male persona."

"You're an awful person."

"Love you too."

They kept walking. Hesitantly, Lara broached a different topic, and Sam casually latched on to it. Soon they were talking and laughing just like they used to. As they walked, their fingers brushed, but did not intertwine. Not yet. But in time they would.


End file.
